


Plants and Envelopes

by Alice_in_Workland



Category: Naruto
Genre: 5+1 Things, GaaLee Bingo 2020, M/M, Post-Canon, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:15:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26948836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_in_Workland/pseuds/Alice_in_Workland
Summary: The first time it happened, the war had just ended. Lee had been sparring with all the vigor of his youth in the rebuilt training field. When he came back to his bag to drink from his water bottle, he spotted a little white envelope with his name beautifully written on it.
Relationships: Gaara/Rock Lee
Comments: 12
Kudos: 96
Collections: GaaLee Bingo





	Plants and Envelopes

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there!
> 
> Here's my contribution to the 2020 GaaLee Bingo! I wanted to write it in french (I even asked on their tumblr if it was possible not to use english, and it was) but as I stared writing, everything came in english, I don't really know why. And it's the fastest I've ever written, I wrote that in a day! I'm usually so slow so I'm kind of impressed with myself on this one... We'll see if you like it aha.
> 
> Big thank you to [LiliaPurpurea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiliaPurpurea) for being an amazing beta!
> 
> Card n°2 - Secret Admirer

1.

The first time it happened, the war had just ended. Lee had been sparring with all the vigor of his youth in the rebuilt training field. When he came back to his bag to drink from his water bottle, he spotted a little white envelope with his name beautifully written on it. He raised a brow and picked it up before opening it, curious.

_Your moves keep on getting better, even to this day._

And that was it. His cheeks turned a reddish color while he observed his surroundings, as if hoping to catch the person who left this note. Of course, there was nobody around this early in the day. He sighed and tucked the envelope safely into his bag; deciding he could think about it later.

2.

The second time, he discovered a little package before his front door a few month later. Intrigued, he picked it and brought it into his apartment, placing it on his coffee table. He looked at the cardboard box for a few minutes, and then opened it. Lee discovered a small cactus planted in a red pot, on which was written his name with the same handwriting used on the note. Lee blushed a little harder this time. It was clearly a gift, and the fact that the cactus was just in the box without any sort of protection meant the person whom it was from brought it themselves and did not send it.

Lee took the plant and held it in his hands, admiring the little flower popping on top of it. It really was a sweet gesture, but he couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed at the same time. Who was it from? Was he supposed to guess? Or was the person being mysterious on purpose? At first, he had thought it was a joke from one of his friends or something. But now? He wasn’t so sure anymore.

It was very intriguing, at the very least.

3.

The third time, he was out with his friends when it happened. They were celebrating Naruto’s birthday in a bar, and even if Lee didn’t drink, he still found it highly entertaining to watch the others do so.

“Hey! Bushy-brows! Why don’t you let yourself have a drink with us? Just one! It won’t be so hard, would it?”

“Trust me Naruto, you really do _not_ want to see me drunk…”

Tenten and Shikamaru laughed loudly at that; Tenten because she _knew_ , and Shikamaru because of Naruto’s skeptic – indeed very laughable – face.

“Come ooon, it can’t be that bad! Look, even Gaara’s drinking!”

Well, to be more exact, the Kazekage had been nursing the same drink since the beginning of the night. But it still counted, in Naruto’s opinion.

“I know, but I prefer juice, thank you very much.”

Tenten came to rescue him and explain to the blond shinobi why it was a bad idea, and Lee sighed in relief when Naruto dropped the subject. Next to him, Gaara chuckled lightly.

“Why are you laughing?” Lee asked, pretending to be offended.

“Nothing. I just remember a certain fight where you did pretty well while being drunk.”

Lee pouted and blushed furiously. He wasn’t exactly drunk anymore when Gaara showed up against Kimimaro that time, but of course he heard the details later on.

“Yeah, yeah… I’m going to the bathroom!”

He was quick, but when he came back, most of his friends were not at the table anymore. There were only Hinata and Sasuke left.

“They went to the bar order more drinks,” Hinata explained without him needing to ask anything. “I told them they should take it easy, but of course, no one listened to me.”

She didn’t appear angry in the least, just a bit… tired maybe. But happy nonetheless, since she was still smiling. Lee nodded and sat back down, but got up again. He had felt something on his seat, and when he looked at the bench, he saw an envelope, just like the one he found on the training field. He took it and looked around; nothing suspicious, of course.

“Hinata, Sasuke… I just found this on my seat… Did you happen to notice someone walking by and putting it there?”

They both shook their heads and Lee sighed. If Sasuke and Hinata, both bearers of powerful pupils, hadn’t seen anything, how was he supposed to guess from whom it was?

“What is it, Lee?” the young woman asked.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it!” Lee laughed while pocketing the piece of paper. He damn well was not going to read it in public. It was for his eyes and his eyes only.

When he finally went home that night after a very good evening, he didn’t even bother to take off his shoes before opening the envelope. It was, again, a single note.

_My day brightens when I hear you laugh._

Lee’s heart sped up in his rib cage. Same handwriting, of course. He was dying to know who the author of these notes was, but apparently, they didn’t want him to know yet.

He would have loved to be the one to court someone that way, but now, it was the other way around. Oh, it was not exactly unpleasant – quite the opposite, actually – but he still got mixed feelings from this. Were they going to keep doing this without revealing themselves? Or was being patient the only thing Lee had to do because they would eventually come to him in person?

Well, whoever it was surely knew that Lee never backed down from a challenge. And discovering the identity of a secret admirer sounded just like one.

4.

The fourth time it happened, he hadn’t made any progress at all. Well, actually, he sort of had. He was nearly a hundred percent sure he and his friends already knew this mysterious person. It was the only explanation for them to have been able to leave the last note without Sasuke or Hinata noticing anything strange.

But the thing was… they knew a _lot_ of people in the village. So Lee wasn’t very convinced he could call that ‘progress’. But still. It was something.

He hadn’t talked about it to anyone.

Lee had been summoned to see the Hokage regarding one of his upcoming missions and at some point during their meeting they heard a knock on the door. Shikamaru came in and told them something had been left for Lee, and that he should remember to pick it up at his desk before leaving. He had his professional face on, but Kakashi clearly saw some amusement in his eyes.

“What?!” Lee asked, jumping on his feet and running in front of him at the speed of light. “Who was it?!”

Shikamaru seemed startled by his behavior but answered nonetheless, smirking.

“It was a delivery man. Why?”

Lee sighed heavily, disappointed.

“I don’t know who you’re dating Lee, but they’re awfully cheesy, sending you flowers while you’re in a meeting for work. Do you tell them where you’re gonna be every moment of the day?”

Lee blushed deeply but he knew Shikamaru was only teasing him. He wished he could tell him that, _no_ , he did not tell anyone his _whole_ schedule, but that would mean explaining everything, and he didn’t want to. At least not now.

He remembered suddenly that he was in a meeting and turned back to Kakashi, who prevented him from apologizing by raising a hand.

“Don’t worry. I think we’re done, anyway, so feel free to collect your gift.”

Lee bowed and left the room with Shikamaru. They went to his desk and the younger man took a very beautiful bouquet and gave it to him.

“That’s awfully cheesy, but I must admit, this is a very nice bouquet.”

Lee took it and inhaled. It smelled amazingly nice too. There was a card attached to it, with simple but powerful words on it, which made Lee blush even harder.

_You deserve the world._

But that was it. There was no clue to know where the flowers had been purchased.

“Ah, I think it comes from the Yamanaka flower store.”

“What?!” Lee screamed, making Shikamaru wince

“Aouch, my ears… Yes. I mean, Ino is my friend so I know a few things about flowers. This – he pointed the center piece of the bouquet – is an extremely rare one in spring, as surprising as it may be. I think if florists have some in April, it would be the Yamanakas.”

“Thank you, Shikamaru!”

And with that, he took off, leaving the very confused shadow master behind.

As excited as he may have been by the progress he’d finally made on his challenge slash investigation, Lee stopped by his place first to put the flowers in a vase with some water. He placed them next to the cactus and, after reflecting on the fact that they were both very nice additions to his living room, left quickly to go to the Yamanakas’ store.

When he entered the building, he spotted Ino at the front desk writing in a notebook.

“Hi, Ino.”

She raised her head and smiled at him.

“Hi Lee! What can I do for you?”

“Well, I… I had a question… Hm… Did… Did someone purchase a very big bouquet with a rare flower in it earlier in the day?”

She seemed surprised.

“Yes, indeed. How do you know that?”

“Who was it?” Lee asked, ignoring her question.

She frowned a bit. Lee was usually a very… loud, ecstatic, nice guy, but now, he seemed… itchy.

“I don’t know him. He was a courier, he had a piece of paper with a list of the things he wanted in the bouquet.”

Now Lee seemed downright devastated. But before she could ask him what was going on, he left the store. And God knew she couldn’t catch him even if she tried.

5.

The fifth time it happened, Lee had found his motivation back. Last time, he had been so close to resolve this mystery that he had felt a little depressed afterwards, but now, he was high spirited again. So when he found a note on his training bag just like the first time, there was no stress about it. He wanted to know from whom they were, but at the same time, he had decided that he was going to stop thinking about those notes and gifts every day. Well. At least, that was his intention before he read the last one.

_I love you._

Oh God… Okay. Lee took a deep breath. To know someone admires you was one thing. But… this person was actually in love with him? Then, it was bound to be someone he knew quite well! Nobody could have a crush on him without knowing him, right? And even knowing him…

Lee shook his head. Now was not the time to dwell on his insecurities. He needed to talk to someone about this, and _soon_.

1.

He went home to shower immediately after his decision and then left again. He could always confide in Gai, he knew his former professor would be delighted to hear that story. Yeah, he could do that…

He walked down the street until he reached a turn he had to take to go to Gai’s apartment, but nearly collided with somebody while doing so.

“Oh I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying atten– Gaara?”

“Hello, Lee.”

The Kazekage didn’t seem startled at all, as if he was expecting to see Lee there. But then again, he was hardly ever startled by anything.

“I didn’t realize you were in Konoha! When did you arrive?

“A few hours ago. I was actually on my way to your place, to see you and ask if you wanted to have some lunch with me.”

Lee was a bit surprised by this sudden – and direct – invitation, but agreed nonetheless. Gai wasn’t expecting him; he could always go see him later. Gaara was not that often in the village, and even when he was, he usually was busy with political meetings, so they couldn’t see each other much.

They walked calmly to a restaurant nearby, chatting a bit, but Lee soon found out that he couldn’t stop thinking about the last note he received. And apparently, it showed on his face. When he and Gaara sat down at a table, the younger man asked:

“Are you alright?”

Lee didn’t know how to answer that. He was… a mix of confused, hopeful, happy and stressed out at the same time.

He wanted someone to talk to… Maybe Gaara would listen?

“Well, actually… I don’t know.”

“What is it?”

“I… I’ve been receiving… notes… and… what I assume are tokens of affection… from… well, that’s the problem, I don’t know from whom. And it’s starting to get… hum… difficult to handle?”

“Ah.”

“Why would they want to do that? I mean, yes, it is kind of romantic, and at first, I thought it was really sweet, but now, I just want to know who is behind those cute notes and gifts…”

Gaara didn’t say anything at first. His expression was unreadable as always. Lee didn’t know what he expected; Gaara wasn’t exactly familiar with this kind of stuff. But then, the redhead man took something from the pocket of his long coat and put it on the table.

It was a small, white envelope.

Oh.

“I think I should apologize then. Upsetting you was the last thing I wanted.”

“No! I mean, I’m not upset! I… Oh wow… I’m… Now, I’m… glad, actually.”

The look of distant sadness in Gaara’s eyes disappeared promptly, replaced by confusion.

“Glad? You didn’t seem glad.”

“I wasn’t. But now that I know it’s you… I’m glad.”

The Kazekage seemed genuinely surprised, and Lee laughed at that. What were the odds for him to finally confide in the very person who’d been trying to court him all this time? The universe must have been telling him something. He collected himself and then asked:

“Did you… did you mean everything you…”

“Yes.”

There was no hesitation in that voice, and Lee recognized determination when he saw it. He blushed.

“Why did you… Why did you decide to do that? During all this time?”

Gaara looked away.

“I am… not good at expressing my feelings. I’m not used to it, even to this day. Writing you notes and giving you gifts were a way for me to tell and show things that I couldn’t bear to say or do in front of you. I tried to leave clues, such as that cactus which only grows in the sunan soil, but I seem to have been… too subtle.”

The red on Lee’s cheeks intensified.

“Indeed. I’m sorry, I’m not very familiar with the sunan flora…”

“Don’t be sorry. I was clumsy. I should have mustered up the courage to talk to you.”

Gaara fell silent after that, and Lee realized that he was probably waiting for an answer, regardless of what it was. He panicked, and decided to pick up the last envelope. When Gaara didn’t stop him, he took it as a permission to read it. It was another simple piece of paper, on which were written only two words.

_Sincerely yours._

“I wanted to give you this one, and then try to talk to you.”

Lee’s heart was beating so fast he felt as if it wanted to break out of his rib cage. He was hot, and flustered. What did he want? Since the day Gaara saved his life during his fight against Kimimaro, he always held him in high regards. Was it more than that? More than friendship? He would have said no a year ago, but… without knowing it, he developed feelings for that stranger who wanted him to feel appreciated. Lee was a romantic at heart. It was hard not to fall for it. And now, to know that Gaara, of all people… Handsome, cold and _dangerous_ Gaara… was capable of showing such a soft side… to _him_.

“I… I can’t really say that I feel the same, but… you… intrigued me this past year, to say the least. And I’m not opposed, at all, to… trying to be… closer to you. I mean it.”

The look on Gaara’s face was worth every sleepless night he went through thinking about this secret admirer. He smiled. Not anything near the teeth-showing grin Lee himself was so fond of, but a true, sincere, relieved smile, and Lee couldn’t help thinking he was damn beautiful like this.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
